A simpler Deputy alternative
built for UK hospitality.
Deputy is a powerful workforce platform. But if you run one pub, cafe or restaurant and just need rotas, clock-in and payroll sorted, you may be paying per-user prices for features you never open. ClockRota does the day-to-day job at a flat banded price — and it's free while we're in public beta.
Try ClockRota freeThe honest version first.
Comparison pages usually trash the competitor. We won't — Deputy is good software and for some businesses it's the right choice. The real question is what your venue actually needs.
Choose Deputy if you need…
- Demand forecasting and labour optimisation
- Payroll & POS integrations (Xero and others)
- SMS notifications and open-shift claiming
- An HR add-on, or workforce tools beyond hospitality
- Enterprise features across many large sites
Choose ClockRota if you need…
- Drag-and-drop rotas your team actually checks
- Clock-in by GPS, PIN or a shared kiosk device
- Timesheets, swaps, leave and UK holiday accrual
- Payroll CSVs with bank-holiday, Sunday & night rates
- One flat banded price instead of per-user billing
Price comparison by team size.
Deputy charges per user per month, across tiers: Lite is its basic plan, while advanced scheduling, auto timesheet approval and richer reporting sit in Core — and extras like enhanced messaging, analytics and HR are paid add-ons on top. ClockRota charges a flat price per band of 5 staff, with every feature included in every band.
| Team size | ClockRota | Deputy Lite | Deputy Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 staff | £9/mo | £16.25/mo | £21.25/mo |
| 10 staff | £19/mo | £32.50/mo | £42.50/mo |
| 15 staff | £29/mo | £48.75/mo | £63.75/mo |
| 20 staff | £39/mo | £65.00/mo | £85.00/mo |
Deputy figures use its published UK per-user prices (Lite £3.25, Core £4.25 per user/month on annual billing) as of July 2026; monthly billing costs more and carries a £20/month minimum spend, and the Messaging+, Analytics+ and HR add-ons are charged extra per user. Check deputy.com for current pricing. ClockRota prices are our published post-beta prices with nothing gated behind a higher tier or add-on — and today it's £0 while we're in public beta.
Feature comparison.
| Feature | ClockRota | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop rota builder | Yes | Yes |
| Copy last week & shift templates | Yes | Yes |
| Publish notifications (app, email, push) | Yes | Yes |
| Clock-in: GPS, PIN & shared kiosk | Yes | Yes |
| Timesheets with approval & late tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Staff-initiated shift swaps | Yes | Yes |
| Leave management with UK holiday accrual | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll CSV incl. bank-holiday, Sunday & night rates | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-venue support | Yes | Yes |
| Demand forecasting & labour optimisation | No | Yes (Core+) |
| Payroll & POS integrations | Not yet (CSV export) | Yes |
| SMS notifications | No | Yes |
| Open-shift self-claiming | No | Yes |
| Every feature on every plan | Yes | No (tiered) |
| Flat banded pricing (not per-user) | Yes | No |
Deputy feature availability per its published UK plan descriptions, July 2026. If we've got something wrong, tell us at hello@clockrota.co.uk and we'll fix it.
Switching takes an afternoon.
Create your venue, set up your roles, and invite your team by email — each person sets themselves up from the invite. Build your first rota with drag and drop, publish it, and everyone's notified. There's no contract and the beta is free, so you can run ClockRota alongside Deputy for a couple of weeks before you decide anything.
Frequently asked questions.
Is ClockRota a good alternative to Deputy?
It depends on what you need. If you run a single UK hospitality venue and mainly need rota building, clock-in, timesheets, shift swaps, leave and payroll exports, ClockRota covers the same day-to-day job at a flat banded price. If you need demand forecasting, POS and payroll integrations, or enterprise features across many sites, Deputy is the more powerful (and more expensive) tool.
How much cheaper is ClockRota than Deputy?
Deputy charges per user: as of July 2026 its UK pricing starts at £3.25 per user per month (Lite, annual billing) or £4.25 (Core), with a £20/month minimum on monthly plans. For a 10-person team that's roughly £33–43/month, before paid add-ons like enhanced messaging, analytics or HR. ClockRota charges a flat £19/month for any team of 6–10 staff once paid plans launch — and is completely free during the public beta.
What does Deputy have that ClockRota doesn't?
Deputy offers demand forecasting, payroll and POS integrations, SMS notifications, open-shift claiming and an HR add-on, and serves industries beyond hospitality. ClockRota doesn't have those — it focuses on doing rotas, clock-in, timesheets, swaps, leave and payroll CSV exports really well for UK hospitality venues.
How hard is it to switch from Deputy to ClockRota?
Switching takes an afternoon. Create your venue, add your roles, and invite staff by email — they set themselves up from the invite. Most teams publish their first rota within minutes of adding their staff. There's no contract to break with ClockRota and the beta is free, so you can run it alongside Deputy before deciding.
Try the simpler way, free.
Every feature unlocked while we're in public beta. No card, no contract — build your first rota in five minutes.
Join the beta free